Happy New Year

Its the end of the year 2011, its been a wild one. Lots of things have happened good and bad, all one can hope that the next year will be better than the last year. Also lets hope the movie 2012 is not gonna happen :) I don't really have any new years wishes, just to constantly better myself and not to be so weak and trusting. Kinda basic stuff. I can't believe how quickly this christmas time has gone by, too soon I have to return to school life. Im really done with studying in my current school and I wanna discover something new. I have so many ideas in my head about what to do, I just can't wait to fulfill them.

The Absence of Snow

As we all at least in Finland can see, there is very little snow at this time of year. I can't really remember a year with so little snow, yet my mom can. So because of that I've been looking at old pictures of snow, some years you could walk on a lake, since the ice was so thick. Now these pictures don't really show lots of snow, but I'll try to get over my laziness and show you guys some proper snow days :) and yes in Finland we never have a snow day(free day from school because of snow), we always go to school no matter what the weather.

I made this door decoration a few years ago, and I still think its cool :)

The Road to a Jolly Spirit

Just posting now some random shots from past Christmases, I have so many pictures in my hard drives and at the moment I have very few on my laptop. Im still somewhat confused on using my mac. Yet its so simple to use. Maybe its more about laziness than confusion. Anyway showing some pics I have. Im lately in such a good mood, well I had one of my closest friends visit me today. I really missed her while I was in Canada, it was really good to talk with her. We talk a lot on the phone and so on, and while in Canada I didn't get that chance. I really need to teach my friends how to use Skype :) Just in case in the future I end up in another country.

Here is my all time favorite Christmas song, I know its the one most listen to one but it perfectly describes how I feel about waiting for Christmas. Christmas is nothing without snow. I love winter time, snow and cold weather. I hate rain and the cold dampness. It should either be hot and damp or cold. I don't like the in-between rainy weather.

Small Peak at Christmas Eve In My Life

Lol long title, so yeah small peak into what kind of a christmas eve we have. Yet there's not many pictures I wanna share for privacy reasons and lack of taking actual pictures. Yet it follows the basic formula. Playing with the kids, going to Sauna, getting dressed, eating the christmas food then waiting for santa clause to visit. Finally after panic about santa we calm down and open the gifts and enjoy the joy of the kids. After all the work for christmas its over and you can enjoy the merry spirit and good food.

3 Families gathering on Christmas Eve

Disney Dreams For Christmas

So how do you know your family goes crazy for Christmas, well they buy some blow up characters for your yard. Yep, my mom and dad bought them from US when we visited there. We went to 3 shops to find them. They look cute though.

Christmas Dinner

So lazy today to upload any proper pictures, so for now my iPhone pics will just have to do :) I really love Christmas food, maybe coz you get it only once a year. Lots of fish, so lovely! And not forgetting kinkku :) take a look at my plate, though its has only a few of the many foods we had :) also my Christmas drink, vanilla coke. Lol I do love glögi as well.

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a very merry christmas eve, which in Finland is the main celebration day. The evening when joulupukki(santa claus) comes and brings us our gifts :) Its so much fun to watch little kids as they get all excited about santa and the gifts. That pure joy is something to cherish. So as you can tell my evening was fun and full of toys and laughter. Also some very very good food. I'll post some pictures later on, once I get a chance to upload them onto my computer. For now enjoy some pics I took while I was in Detroit. Happy Holidays!

The Last Exam

While I was still in Canada, for my last exam I went to the library to study. It was really hard to concentrate anywhere at that time. Yet with my friend I got the most studying done. She inspired me to focus :) oki time to go decorate a Christmas tree.

iPhone Life

Testing out this blogger app for iPhone, it's quite cool how you can pretty much get everything and anything on your iPhone etc device :) makes you wonder though. In the past we didn't have all these gadgets and people still managed to live and pass the time. In today's society kids and youngsters seem to get bored so easily that what would they do if all of this technology would be taken away from them? For me, I enjoy times when I can just sit relax and do nothing. Maybe have a good conversation with a loved one or friend, no need for extra gadgets :)

Buffalo Bill

So when my parents visited me in Canada, I took them to the USA. So on the first weekend here we drove up to Buffalo and heres what it looks like:

Breakfast Cora Style

So yet Im already home in Finland, I still have some pictures from Canada that I want to share. Quite a lot actually. So lets see if I can get some out now. Yes I am sitting at Toronto airport writing this, so what :)

Coming Home

Wow, that was an odd two days. So much to do so little time. Yet I made it to the airport with all my stuff. After the most confusing check in I made my way to the US customs where they claimed my visa had expired yet in the passport it says January 9th. Well finally they let me go and I went through security check, where a nice lady was looking at my jade bracelet and said exactly the same as my daughters. After I told her how I got it she was really impressed and asking me about going home. She made my day. Such a nice lady. So now Im sitting at my gate already, since it seems there isn't that much to do here and my pack back weighs a ton. Cool that they have free wifi at Toronto airpot. I wonder if JFK will have it as well. I can't wait to get on the plane and sleep. I haven't slept much in the previous 2 nights. Oh yeah, here is a very very photogenic picture of our tired traveler aka me :)

Crush the Skull

Taking a little break while reading for my exam tomorrow morning, yeah I know I could have been reading earlier. Its gonna be a long night, oh well last days in Guelph and its better to mess up my rhythm since anyway I'll be going to a different time zone soon. So enjoy this entertaining video from Wong Fu Productions:

Road Trip

My parents were visiting me here in Canada. These are a few pictures from their first day here, they had rented a car and we drove around the Guelph area. Huge traffic that day so we ended up in Waterloo. In Waterloo I saw the first christmas lights. Cool snowflakes.

the car

Oh Christmas Tree

I was watching some videos on youtube, when I stumbled upon this one. I really like Wong Fu productions and I hope you guys enjoy this vid.

Just a peak at what kind of tree my home usually has, though this one is quite a slim one compared to the ones we have had in the past :)

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Lol I know this is another post about Tiffany's, but polyvore makes it so easy to make these collages :) Try it out!

Hyvää Itsenäisyyspäivää!

Its really strange to be away from home on independence day. Its a really important celebration for Finnish people and me included. Normal traditions include having the Finnish flag out, putting two candles on a window still and watching some tv shows: a traditional movie about the wars that led to our independence and  a party held at the presidents residence. Its kinda like the Finnish oscars, people pay a lot of attention to what invited people are wearing. I won't be able to do these things but I can still celebrate in my mind. Remembering previous years.

example of two candles in the window

 Finland became independent in 1917 on the 6th of December. There is no official reason for the candles being on the window still, but it is said that one point when Finland was under Russian rule as an objection to it people would have two candles on their window still on certain days. There are quite a few traditions related to the independence day and the ones I mentioned are the most simple type. For more info check this out.

Christmas Time

Can't believe its already december, last week i was so excited about christmas and going home. But this week, this messed up week has made my lose my excitement. Anyways thats why I've been gone and ill try to post more merry posts, to show my normal christmas spirit. hopefully i can get some of it back before i go home. i can't wait to be back home, just hope i can do it as my own self not the shell i am today. lol thats enough. here some pics

My Outfit Today

Almost like my outfit today, differences are the white lace cardigan of mine is actually from Forever 21 and the scarf is supposed to be silver and from Dynamite also the brown belt is not what I used. I didn't add my black jacket from Garage nor my cute necklace. Note my Finnish side with the traditional black Marimekko bag :)

My outfit Today by mirayou

Jimmy Choo Dreams

Jimmy Choo Dreams by mirayou featuring a black leather shoulder bag

Just playing around with some basic every girl dream things. Wanting to own a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes. 

The Day it Snowed

So a few days ago it snowed a little bit here in Guelph. I already posted about it but here are some more evidence of it. I can't wait for more snow, love love it!

Pretty in Pink

So I am known for hating pink, though I had pink highlights and often like to have pink nails. Its actually more of a hate towards very light pink and so on. I do have a liking towards cold pinks and purples. So here is an example of pink nails that I find nice, though the flash kinda takes away from the color.

Snow

YAAAY. Its finally snowing here! I'm sitting in class and looking out the window at the snow storm. It looks so beautiful, just like Christmas!! I'll try to take a picture after class and post it here.

Something In Your Mouth

It was a lazy lazy Saturday morning when me and the girls made our way to Cora's to have breakfast. Cora's is a Canadian chain of breakfast places and I have to say quite good. As you can see from the picture below they had a wide selection of foods and most of them had a lot of fruits. They also had a very good mango-banana smoothie. Take a look at their menu and stuff here.

Creps and frech toast with fruits

Sushi

This one weekend me and the girls wondered to a all you can eat sushi restaurant. It was my first time to eat sushi but not my first time to eat raw fish, since we Finns love our fish cooked and raw. I was a little worried about it, since I'm quite particular about the freshness of fish but turned out that I was worried for no reason. Though the salmon did not taste as good as some graavilohi (gravlax in English), but hey not everything can be perfect.

You've Got Mail

Its always an exiting process of going to your mail box and checking if you have any mail. Usually you find ads and bills, but then again sometimes you get postcards and on the rare occasion you might get a letter. Well I've been lucky enough to be remembered by a few people and this post is to them and also the people that have emailed me, you guys made my days much brighter.

lol, my address is huge, so long

Everyday I'm Suffering

I don't really have any idea behind this post, just had some pictures I wanted to share and kinda trying to get my mind off school stuff in a way. Can't believe my time here in Canada will be soon over, but I'm really excited about going home. Its going to be hard to say goodbye to some of the nicest people I've met here but on the other side I can't wait to be back in the arms where I belong and to get to hug my little nieces. Oh that reminds me, need to do some serious Christmas shopping soon!

At least not all text in school books are boring, yet these are articles so no wonder they were interesting.

Halloween Hunt

So before Halloween there was a trip to the amusement park in Toronto for a event called Halloween Hunt. Basically you went to the park during the evening and they had Halloween decorations and horror houses that you could visit. So here are some pictures I took, there was a lot of smoke and very little lighting so most are a bit blurry but interesting none the less, so enjoy:

The Horrors of the Past

Yep here's just some pictures from Halloweens from the past, brings back great memories. Great decorations, good food and awesome friends. Thats all you need for a good Halloween party. Oh yeah maybe a good horror movie as well or maybe a bad one that you can laugh to.

Made the tablecloth myself and also the tombstones. Doing it yourself is always more fun than just buying stuff. I made my friend a tombstone birthday card, too bad her dad didn't really like it.

The Things That Can Fly

My sister living in Helsinki found this one party store, from where you can easily get helium balloons. Actually the store is in Espoo and they have all kinds of things to decorate your party of choice. For me it's Halloween things that pull me to this store. If you are interested in the store in questions then visit their website. So this one year I got myself a few balloons for Halloween and here they are:

 Quite a traditional balloon style, not too scary with spiders in the colors of Halloween.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

So this one year while getting ready for Halloween I had all my decorations spread out in my room and suddenly I threw the spider web me and my friend made on top of this lap and also added a spider and the cauldron  I have to say it's quite a good look and another idea for what to do for Halloween. Though I don't suggest to leave this scene with the light on, it is a fire danger.

In the picture you can also see the light that I won when I was a child. Then a fan and a mask I bought from Venice a past summer. They create quite a dramatic scene.

Terrific Nails

Yep, so today was my first attempt to do some proper Halloween inspired nails. I finally busted out my new set of OPI nail polishes and tadaa see what I can do. Well yeah its a bit lame but it's a first try and hey it's personal. Not everyone can have these nails. OOOH how I miss my long long nails, now only one remains of all of them being that long. I did have long was for quite a long time at one point, dunno how I did it but I miss them so.

Jack-O-Lantern

The most effective part of Halloween decoration is using the effect of light and dark. So not using any normal lights but just candles already give you a eerie feel without the need for decorations. Though for Halloween a Jack-o-lantern styled candle holder is quite effective as seen in the picture. Also more about the white fabric seen in the picture, it's a easy thing to make and also quite effective. Hope everyone is getting in the Halloween feeling.

Halloween is a Coming

So from today until the actual Halloween day I'm gonna post everyday something related to Halloween. Mostly just show some old decorations I have done in the past and then some new ideas I have come up with. So at the moment my Halloween stock here in Canada is a bit small, but that's the life of a exchange student. Though I got myself a spider web to put up, let's see how it looks once I get it done.

Yep, so this was the short intro. More Halloween to come, with lots of cool pictures etc etc.

Montreal Crew

So just adding some pictures of the girls I was with in Montreal they really are what keeps me going here in Guelph. The nicest group of girls I have ever know.

Montreal the Rainy Part

So here we go with the second part of the Montreal trip. We went to walk around in a cute little park on a rainy day. So we were cold but hey at least we saw something new. 

Montreal

So this one weekend I went on a trip to Montreal with Commerce group of people, which was a bad idea but at least I went there with friends so it wasn't that bad. It just rained all the time and was cold. Oh and it was somewhat strange to be in Canada but in a part that mainly just speaks French. So surreal to me, but cool felt like I was in Europe at times. So here are some pictures of it:

Worst Day Ever Feeling

You know those days that just won't go your way? or maybe it can stretch out the be as long as a week of just plain old sucky stuff. Well that was my today. Well it was my last week as well. I bet if the weather was more sunny, I'd be feeling a little better though..

the phone that caused me so much trouble, big bill and small message memory

Social Responsibility

I'm not sure what to write lately, seems it's the writers block still keeping my creative flow at a minimum. If I ever had such a thing. Lately I've been thinking of things that are related to my course of Corporate Social Responsibility. The course is quite a eye opener though the questions covered in it are the ones we all have been asking: how to get rid of poverty, human rights and environmental issues to name a few. It makes you wonder, there issues have been around for a long time yet no answer has been found. Maybe the answer is already there, there is just no one to take action.

Universal Fall

This picture was taken in Amsterdam, and as we can see Fall has universally the same features. Warm colors combined with cold weather.

"Poetry is finer and more philosophical than history; for poetry expresses the universal, and history only the particular." - Aristotle

Leaves Growing Old

The fall colors just keep my speechless, but that I will say fall in Canada is much more sunnier than I ever expected. Much better than a dark Finnish fall.

"How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days." - John Burroughs

Something in Nothing

It's always interesting to take pictures, sometimes a random picture turns out to be very interesting. Like the picture above, wonder what was happening in the picture?

"There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle." - Albert Einstein

Movie Like Fog

There is this eerie feel of the fog that you can see during the night and morning times. It reminds me of those old Hollywood movies. Perfectly horrible.

"Derive happiness in oneself from a good day's work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us." - Henri Matisse

The End of an Era

So yeah should be reading for my mid-term tomorrow but have a huge headache and also found the shocking news that Steve Jobs has passed away. It's still quite unbelievable to me, he is one of my idols as I love all products that he has brought with his visionary ways of doing business. The world and Apple will not be the same without him.

Lingering Fall

Sometimes fall comes and goes before you even notice and sometimes it lingers on for you to enjoy.

"Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn." - Elizabeth Lawrence

Blank Mind, No Clouds in Sight

Third post and still a blank mind. I started to ponder why could that be. Would it be that well-know writers block? Well I'm not a writer not in any sense. Could it be that I'm just out of ideas? No, there are quite a few boiling up in my head. After this pondering I came to the conclusion that I'm just too stressed about being behind readings so I can't concentrate on anything else. So time to hit the books.

"After all manner of professors have done their best for us, the place we are to get knowledge is in books. The true university of these days is a collection of books." - Albert Camus

Toronto - Chinatown

So one Saturday day I spent in Toronto. Actually in Chinatown and the area around it, but also in Eaton center. Really wanna visit Eaton center again, need to do some more shopping. VS was neglected on this particular day. Oops, not the best in time management. I should really learn to organize my time better.

I kept waiting for this kind of welcome the whole time, and found it before I left :)